Catalyst
by livelife09
Summary: Finn Hudson and Rachel Berry are complete opposites. Finn is the captain of the football team; Rachel is their unwilling target. Slight AU. Told in alternating points of view.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I do not own Glee or anything affiliated with it. I've also never really written a story before, but I thought I would give it a try! Please let me know what you think. It would mean a lot! Thank you!

* * *

_Catalyst: (-noun) Something that initiates or causes an important event to happen._

Rachel Berry considered herself to be a very independent young woman. She had learned from an early age that the only person she could always count on was herself; a notion that was reaffirmed each time a slushie was thrown in her face by one of the jocks at her personal hell, William McKinley High School.

The daily torment Rachel faced only increased her determination to make it out of this town. After high school, while her former tormentors bagged groceries at the local corner store, Rachel was going to catch the first train to New York. After a year of working as a struggling waitress at a quaint café in the heart of Manhattan with auditions here and there, she would land her first role as an understudy in a Broadway production. Her understudy role would not last long, though, as a director would take note of her extreme talent in the arts and cast her in a leading role.

It was this familiar daydream that kept Rachel from succumbing to the daily onslaught of insults delivered by her classmates. _She _knew who she was, and her morning workout spelled out her goal: taped in front of Rachel's elliptical was a glittery sign that spelled out BROADWAY, punctuated by a gold star.

Rachel Berry had a goal. Ambitions. A dream.

Nothing would get in her way.

* * *

_Ain't nothing gonna break my stride- _

Rachel reached blindly over to hit the "off" button on her alarm, sitting up in bed and stretching. The sun flitted through the gap in her blinds, and Rachel strode over to the window and drew the curtain aside so that bright sunshine filled the room. Rachel blinked against the intensity for a second before hopping on her elliptical to begin her morning routine. If the sun was any indication, today was going to be a good day.

The cold sting of the slushie hitting her face moments after entering the corridor of McKinley brought Rachel back to reality. Blinking against the sting of the icy drink, she grabbed a change of clothes out of her locker and retreated to the bathroom. After the first slushie was tossed in her face freshman year, Rachel had been in tears as she told her fathers, both prominent lawyers who had threatened Principal Figgins with a lawsuit if it "_Ever. Happened. Again." _The culprits, Noah Puckerman and his group of Neanderthal jocks, were reprimanded by a stammering Principal Figgins (Rachel's dads were still in the office), and for a while order had been restored.

After school that day, however, Rachel had been approached while walking home from school from the same group of jocks, this time in the car of an upperclassman.

"_Going home to your gay dads, Berry?" _One had shouted out the window, "_Here - I made you dinner!" _

Eggs were thrown and Rachel ducked her head behind a textbook and raced away from the scene, away from the high fives and hollering she could hear as the car sped up and finally passed her. After that first week, Rachel had vowed to never tell her dads what was going on. Instead, she kept a spare set of clothes in her locker and utilized them when needed (which was often). Her steely exterior and stone façade ensured that she would never break down in the presence of others, as that would admit defeat. In the comfort of her bedroom was where Rachel allowed herself to explore her passion, filming video after video of herself singing and dancing.

After changing her clothes and stuffing the dirty shirt in the garbage (slushie stains were too difficult to get out, she had discovered long ago), Rachel made her way to her first period history class. The bathroom detour had made her late, and when she entered the classroom there was only one seat left: next to the most popular boy in school, the quarterback of the school football team: Finn Hudson.

* * *

Finn Hudson had it all. As a sophomore, he was the quarterback of the varsity football team. He dated the captain of the cheerleading squad (the Cheerios), Quinn Fabray. He eventually wanted to go to college on a football scholarship, though he knew his grades were not up to par.

Finn was a realist. When he was a year old, his father died in Iraq. His mother worked hard to provide for him, but sometime he would catch her holding his dad's picture in her bedroom, tears silently rolling down her cheeks. When she caught sight of Finn in the doorway, the picture would be put away and the tears would be gone.

Years later, Finn would be referred to as "oblivious." However, as a young child he had a certain awareness that allowed him to understand how people felt. Perhaps it was because of his dad that Finn was able to read emotions so well, having seen so many of them in his mother. In front of his mother Finn kept a stoic face; behind closed doors the façade fell, leaving Finn a bumbling mess at times; at others, it increased his determination to do well. To accomplish everything his father was not given the opportunity to do.

To make his dad proud.

* * *

_BEEP! BEEP! BE-_

Finn groaned and rolled over in his sleep, reaching out to hit the snooze button. The sun was beginning to infiltrate his room and Finn protested, shoving his head under his pillow. He woke up twenty minutes later to his mom shaking him awake.

"Finn! FINN!" Carole Hudson shook her son's shoulder as he opened one bleary eye to look at her.

"You have to be at school in fifteen minutes and I will not have another phone call from your principal telling me that you aren't there!" She pulled the covers off Finn and he begrudgingly sat up.

Ten minutes later, eyes only half open and hair still sticking up on one side (he would have football practice after school anyway, which was a sweat fest, so why bother fixing his hair?), Finn was digging his history book out of his locker. As he walked down the hall he noticed a familiar sight: Rachel Berry, the school's resident weird girl, with a slushie stained blouse. Not much further down the hall was the culprit: Noah Puckerman, or Puck, Finn's best friend since they were six and Puck had thrown that baseball into Finn's basement window. Finn had taken the blame, and a friendship was formed.

"Dude." Puck fist bumped Finn as he stopped in the middle of the hall. "Did you see that Berry chick? Next time I'll let you throw it."

Finn did not know much about Rachel Berry. She used to be a part of his carpool so he knew that she had two gay dads and a big house, but that was it. He did not understand why his classmates gave her such hell; if he had been her, he would have given up a long time ago. But Finn was sure that if given a shake, her walls would crumble. Finn had never taken part in any of the cruel pranks his friends played on who they deemed the "losers" of the school; he was there for moral support (duty calls; he was a jock, after all), but he always felt for the victims, even as he laughed at their expense on the outside.

Rachel Berry was no different. Finn wanted to tell Puck to fuck off, that it wasn't funny, that he was sick of the stupid "jokes," but instead he turned around with a "We're going to be late for class. See you at football" tossed over his shoulder at Puck, leaving Puck mumbling,

"Since when do you care about being late?"

Finn entered his class a few minutes early for once, snagging a table in the back. Seconds after the warning bell had rung, Rachel Berry walked in, her blouse obviously having been changed. The teacher made no comment and simply nodded toward the only empty seat: right next to Finn.

* * *

If you could review, that would be awesome! Thanks! The prologue was just a bit of back story.


	2. The Assignment

_Wow! Thank you for all the reviews! Like I said, this is my first story, so I did not expect any sort of response at all. I was pleasantly surprised! _

_I am not going to introduce glee club, though the characters will exist and you will meet many of them. In this story, Rachel and Finn are not in glee. _

_I have a summer job and am taking a summer class as well so daily updates will not always be a reality, but I will try to post a new chapter at least twice a week. _

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"In history, you've heard of many influential leaders. Martin Luther King, George Washington, even Adolf Hitler - all individuals who, through their actions, created change and influenced groups of people. In your life, you have many influences. Your peers, your parents, a boyfriend or girlfriend -"

Finn listened to his history teacher, Mr. Bardon, drone on about "influence." Finn knew about influences. He may not be the sharpest crayon in the box, but he knew that an influence could be someone like Puck, who encouraged Finn to go along with his half-assed plans, despite how dumb they usually were.

Or an influence could be someone like his mom. That was a better influence.

"An influence doesn't have to be a person," Mr. Bardon went on. "An influence can be a passion; for example, music."

Finn loved music. He had received a set of drums for his ninth birthday (a hand me down from his older cousin Nick, but it was new to him), and for months he had taught himself how to play. His mother could not afford lessons, but his cousin would help him when he needed it and Finn found that he could release his emotions by pounding on the drums (effectively annoying his mother to the point where she threatened to take the drums away - in fact, she _did _take his drums away a month before his tenth birthday, but Finn found that Tupperware containers worked well as a makeshift drum and after effectively denting almost all his mother's Tupperware, she relented and relinquished the drums).

"Your assignment," Mr. Bardon finished, "is to look at your life and discover your biggest influence. It could be a person, but it does not have to be. Present an oral report to the class in two weeks dictating your findings."

The class groaned.

"Oh, it gets better!" Mr. Bardon grinned. "I find it interesting to look at the influences in the lives of others. It helps me to understand certain behaviors, and encourages a deeper appreciation of those who you may not have given a second glance to before. This is why you will be having a partner for this project - "

Finn tried to catch his teammate Matt's eye -

"-that I will assign." Mr. Bardon concluded, and protests rang out. Mr. Bardon raised a hand to silence the classroom.

"Get to know someone new. This is high school, guys. It's time to branch out. Both you and your partner will choose something that has influenced you, your decisions, and your character. You will work _together _to compile an oral report, where each of you will need to be prepared to talk about your own as well as your partner's biggest influence. Now, the pairings. Matt Rutherford and Mercedes Jones…"

Finn tuned out. He was not a very good student, but he needed a good grade if he wanted to stay on the football team and possibly get a scholarship. As far as his friends went, Matt did get decent grades and Finn did not want to get stuck with someone who would not be able to help him increase his grade in the class.

"Finn Hudson and -" Mr. Bardon consulted his sheet - "Rachel Berry."

Finn looked over with surprise at his new partner, who was looking rather ill at the prospect of being paired with him. Finn could not blame her. Even if he never took part in her discomfort, he was still there and never did anything about it. He would not want to be paired with himself, either.

But Rachel was a good student. And maybe he could get to know her a bit and convince his fellow football players (and cheerleader girlfriend) to leave her alone.

He gave her a small smile, and she ducked her head and looked away. Finn frowned.

Maybe this would be harder than he thought.

* * *

Rachel listened intently as her teacher, Mr. Bardon, described a new project. As far as influences went, her dads were the biggest influence on her life. They were her biggest supporters and her inspiration. Because of their orientation, Rachel had seen (though they tried to hide it from her) the hardships they had faced. Rachel used their determination and infallible strength to get through the many long days at school.

Music was also a huge influence on Rachel's life. From the time she was two years old, her dads had enrolled her in singing, piano and dance lessons. They never missed a performance. Rachel had recently created a myspace account and was deliberating if she should post her many videos on the site. They were currently being harbored on her hard drive, but that was quickly running out of space. Of course, if her classmates were to find her account she would have to deal with the many comments she could only imagine would surface, but it would be a good way to get her name out in the middle of cyberspace, where a talk-show host could find her account and invite her on the show and get her an agent and…

Rachel's imagination took over and she slowly let herself drift back to reality, just in time to hear Mr. Bardon announce "partner project."

Rachel squeezed her eyes tight and took a deep, calming breath. Partner projects undoubtedly meant that she would end up doing all the work (or close to it). Rachel was always one for control, but with her rigorous dance and performance schedule she knew she needed a partner who could do their share of the work while sustaining the grades Rachel had become accustomed to. And in this school, that amounted to… no one.

When Mr. Bardon went on to announce Finn Hudson as her partner, Rachel had to grip the table to keep from walking out of the room. Finn Hudson? Rachel did not know too much about Finn, but what she did know was not promising. He was the quarterback of the football team and dated the captain of the Cheerios, Quinn Fabray, who still found it funny to draw pornographic pictures of Rachel on the bathroom stalls.

Back in grade school Finn had been a part of her carpool. She knew he only lived with his mom, though she did not know anything about his father. She also knew that he was not the best student, which meant that again, she would end up doing all the work.

Finn caught her eye and smiled as Rachel frowned and looked away.

He was probably just trying to use his sleazy football player charm to get her to do all the work so he could gloat to his friends about how he was able to use Rachel Berry to get a good grade.

She would not let him get to her.

* * *

After class, Finn caught up to Rachel outside the classroom. He grabbed her elbow as she attempted to make a clean break.

"Hey! So about this project for Bardon -" He only got that far before Rachel interrupted.

"I know that you may care more about your friends than your grades, but I, for one, intend on not letting being paired with you influence my near perfect 4.0 GPA. If that means I have to do all the work I will oblige -" _What the hell does oblige mean? _Finn thought "-but do not for one second think that your name will go on this project if you do not contribute an equal share of the work."

With that, Rachel's mouth snapped shut and she strode forward; fortunately, Finn had much longer legs (though her legs were long, too, he noticed, and then tried to erase the thought from his mind because she was _Rachel freakin Berry _and it was just because she wore super short skirts that he noticed, anyway). He caught up to her easily.

"I don't know what half that stuff you just said means, but I just wanted to get going on the project," he said. "When can we get started?"

"I have a very busy schedule, but if you will meet me after school tomorrow at my locker we can walk to my house and begin there," Rachel started, then hesitated, "unless being seen with me would impair your social standing."

Finn did not miss the conflicting emotions that flickered through Rachel's eyes at that moment. She had offered him an easy out, but he was not going to take it.

"Tomorrow is good. See you then." Proud of himself for not taking the out she had offered, Finn trekked the rest of the way to his locker, where he pulled out the book for his next class.

* * *

Meanwhile, Rachel thought about what had just transpired in the hallway. Finn Hudson really cared about his grade? Or did he have an ulterior motive?

It didn't matter, anyway, she thought. She would get another A, Finn would get his grade, and then she wouldn't have to deal with him anymore.

_Acting, Berry, _she thought. _You're an aspiring actress, and you can convincingly portray your acceptance of Finn Hudson for two weeks. _

Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.


	3. Two Strangers

_Thanks again for all the feedback! I mapped out the story and it looks to be about 8-9 chapters, so updates will probably be coming slower. I've discovered that I really like writing and it helps me cope with issues in my own life, which is why updates have been happening daily! I can't stop writing! _

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The following afternoon Rachel stood at her locker after the final bell, pretending to busy herself with removing her Spanish textbook from the locker.

_Would he show? _

_What if he did show, with his cronies and an ice cold slushie?_

Rachel slammed her locker shut. It was now five minutes after the final bell and the halls were beginning to thin out. If he had not shown up by now, she was not going to wait around. Turning on her heel, Rachel hoisted her backpack over her shoulder and winced. Dance practice the night before had been brutal, even for a well trained dancer like herself. She was about to exit the school when a "Rachel - wait!" resounded through the empty hallway and Finn caught up to her, panting as if he had run a marathon.

Well, at least he didn't have a slushie in hand.

"Glad you decided to show up. I was just about to leave. My schedule keeps me very busy, you know." Rachel glanced at him as she pushed through the doors, Finn behind her.

"I know, I got caught up, but I'm here now, so lets go," Finn fell into step with Rachel as they began walking in the direction of her home. Rachel rolled her eyes but let it go, and the remainder of the walk was filled with mostly silence.

* * *

Finn really had gotten caught up. On his way to his locker his girlfriend had stopped him with a reminder about the celibacy club meeting she was holding at her house tonight, and as Finn stammered out his excuse (the truth: "I have a project I am working on with a partner and I need a good grade to play football") Quinn demanded to know who his partner was. The remaining conversation resulted in Quinn making a typical remark referring to Rachel as "RuPaul" (_who was RuPaul?), _insulting the girl for the better part of five minutes, and consequently Finn was late. By the time he caught up to Rachel, who was just exiting the building and quite obviously annoyed, Finn decided to keep quiet (a trait he had learned from Quinn to avoid an argument). Instead, he fell into step beside her and focused on keeping his strides small so that the short girl would not need to run to keep up with him.

Occasionally Finn stole glances at Rachel, whose face was set with determination. She obviously wanted to get this project over with and get rid of him as quickly as possible, and Finn was preparing himself for a long, awkward afternoon.

"This is it." Rachel's voice broke Finn out of his reverie, as they stopped in front of a sprawling, modern home. Finn remembered this home, though he had never been inside it. Rachel led the way up the well-maintained path to the front door, and as they stepped through the doorway Finn observed Rachel as she removed her shoes; he did the same.

"My dad's are at work until late. Would you like a snack?" Rachel called as she entered the kitchen, Finn a few steps behind.

"I always have a snack when I get home. Usually something healthy like an apple and never soda, because it is terrible for your vocal chords," Rachel explained in too many words, as she opened the fridge and removed an apple and a bottle of water for herself.

"An apple and water is good, thanks," Finn heard himself say, as Rachel pushed another apple in front of him.

"This is a nice house." Finn observed, then cringed. _Moron. If you want the girl to open up and not see you as some jerk just trying to use her for a grade, try saying something smart for a change. _

"I mean, like, I've only ever seen it from the outside and it's nice being inside and… well… I don't know too much about you I guess except what everyone says so I was hoping maybe you would talk to me but I understand if you just want to get this over with because if I were you I wouldn't want to deal with me either and…" Finn babbled on, ending when he noticed the small smile gracing Rachel's features. She did have a nice smile.

* * *

Rachel couldn't help it. The jock just kept going on, but his way of speaking was not littered with the overuse of big words that Rachel used in her own speech. She couldn't help it: growing up with no friends left her with a lot of time to read.

The way Finn spoke, though, was honest and open and bumbling and kinda…

_Cute. _

Rachel thought, and then erased that from her memory. This was the jock with the friends who threw slushies on her. The jock with the girlfriend who insulted her on a daily basis and drew pictures of her on the walls.

Rachel believed that trust needed to be earned, and Finn Hudson had a lot of work to do.

"Lets go to the living room and get started." Rachel announced, leading Finn from the kitchen into the living room, where comfy chairs and couches littered the space. The centerpiece of the room was a large television, with a library of DVDs scattered beneath. Mostly musicals, Rachel's favorite. Rachel took a seat on the couch and removed a notebook from her backpack, which she had carried in with her. She patted the seat next to her, acknowledging Finn to sit.

"So. I guess we should get started. Do you have any ideas?" Of course Rachel had ideas (she always did), and she already had narrowed down her influences (dads or music), but Rachel had learned that it was important to listen to the ideas of others, even though it wasn't easy for her.

"I was thinking about maybe my dad…" Finn mumbled, and Rachel wrote it down.

"What about your dad inspires you?" Rachel asked, businesslike and professional, her pen poised to write down the traits Finn gave.

"His life. My dad died when I was a year old," Finn stated, and Rachel looked at him with surprise and sympathy in her eyes. "I'm sorry, Finn - do you want to talk about him?" She asked softly.

"I think so." Finn nodded.

* * *

Finn hadn't expected to have to delve into his life so quickly, but surprisingly he felt at ease like this, talking to Rachel, a girl he knew but didn't _know. _

He told her everything (well, maybe not everything). He told her about his dad, how he died, his mom and how she coped, how he wanted to be everything his dad never had the opportunity to be, and how he tried to make him proud.

He left out the bit about music and how it helped him cope. It seemed cheesy when he thought about it.

He hadn't looked at his partner the entire time, but after finishing his life story he looked at her to see tears brimming in her eyes.

"Oh - _Finn,_" she said, laying a warm hand on his shoulder, which he didn't shrug off. "I'm sorry I made you talk about this - we hardly know each other," she apologized.

"No, it's okay, I feel comfortable talking to you," Finn said, and couldn't believe how true his words were. He _did _feel comfortable, something he never felt with his girlfriend or Puck or any of his other friends before.

"So, what about you? I'm sure you've had quite a few influences in your life." Finn quirked a side smile at Rachel, waiting for her to employ her large vocabulary and preparing for a long speech (which, oddly enough, he found himself wanting to listen to. Maybe it was just because she had been so welcoming, you know, after they had gotten past the… non-welcoming stuff). Rachel took a deep breath and began.

* * *

Rachel couldn't believe that Finn had opened up to her. Truth be told, she had been expecting a few short words (maybe sentences, if his jock vocabulary would allow it), just enough to allow him to get by and get out of her house.

When she put her hand on his shoulder, it was honestly because she wanted him to know that she was sorry, that she felt for him. She expected him to shrug her hand away.

But he didn't.

And then he asked her about her influences, which was a mistake because Rachel could talk about her dads _forever _(and she did, and when he asked if it was weird growing up with two dads she truthfully told him that it was only weird when other people made it weird, which he seemed to understand).

She left out the bit about music. That was her thing: it was her expression, her personal coping mechanism, and she did not want to share it less he thought it was cheesy and juvenile.

When she finished, she looked at Finn and he patted her thigh (something fluttered in Rachel's stomach but she explained it away: _must be something I ate for lunch) . _

"Well, looks like we've got a good start on this project." He squinted as if he was concentrating very hard, and put on a fake fortune teller accent. "In our future I see… two A's!"

Rachel couldn't help it.

She laughed.


	4. Meet the Parents

"And you believed her?" Rachel shot Finn a wide-eyed look. It was a week later and the two were in Finn's family room, waiting for Mrs. Hudson to return home from work so that they could interview her for their project. They had interviewed Rachel's dads two days before. Finn had been anxious and not sure what to call them (Mr. and Mr. Berry? Their first names? The latter didn't seem right). Rachel noticed his nervousness on the walk home and Finn finally admitted that he had never been in the company of two gay men before and what should he call them and what if he did something wrong? Rachel giggled (Finn was beginning to love the sound of her musical laugh) and did her best to calm his nerves.

"_Call them Mr. and Mr. Berry, Finn," _she had said. _"Just treat them how you would treat your girlfriend's parents. But just so you know, I've told them everything about you… your jock friends…" _At the alarmed look in his eyes, her eyes had sparkled as she told him that she was "just kidding" and that "everything would be just fine."

And everything was just fine. Rachel's dads had greeted Finn with a firm handshake, which he returned a bit uneasily (what if Rachel really had told her parents about how his friends threw slushies on her and he didn't do anything to stop it? Didn't that put him just as much at fault as his dumbass friends?). Finn warmed up quickly, though, especially when Mr. Berry (the short one Rachel called "daddy") asked him about football and if he thought McKinley could win this Friday (not likely, they were playing Carmel). The interview flew by, and soon enough he was saying goodbye to Rachel's dads and Rachel was walking him to the door, after making plans to interview Finn's mother later that week.

Which is where they were now.

Finn had just finished telling Rachel about Quinn, who had had a pregnancy scare a few weeks ago and had told Finn that it was his baby because they had been kissing fully-clothed in the hot tub. Finn had believed her until his mother, who had noticed his strange behavior, cornered him one evening after football practice and Finn let out the whole sordid tale. His mother did not laugh. She told Finn that that was not possible, rented a book about conception for Finn to read (that was embarrassing), and then Quinn turned out not to be pregnant anyway.

Rachel didn't laugh when he admitted that yes, he had believed that he could get his girlfriend pregnant in that way. That was one of the (many) traits Finn was becoming to appreciate about Rachel. Unlike his girlfriend who constantly insulted him, Rachel did nothing of the sort. Rather, she encouraged him; when Finn threw down his pencil in disgust one afternoon earlier that week because he didn't understand how to conjugate a verb in Spanish (they were taking a break from their project to finish the Spanish homework, another class they shared), Rachel had patiently explained the process to him, high fiving him when he finally understood. She had the ability to make him feel good, like he was something more than just a too-tall football player with a pea-sized brain.

In the middle of their conversation, the door opened and Finn jumped off the couch to greet his mother.

"Mom!" Finn gave his mother a hug as she set her purse on the kitchen table.

"And who is this?" Carole Hudson asked her son, peering around him to see a brunette girl enter the kitchen, a slight smile on her face.

"Oh! Mom, this is Rachel Berry, my partner for the project," Finn introduced, stepping back to allow Rachel further into the room.

"Rachel! I do remember you! You were so young the last time I saw you…" Finn's mother smiled at Rachel, who extended her hand for a handshake.

"Nice to meet you, Mrs. Hudson." Rachel said promptly, as if she had practiced (she probably had, Finn thought).

"Please, call me Carole," Mrs. Hudson corrected, ignoring the handshake and instead embracing Rachel, who seemed a bit caught off guard but returned the warm hug.

_She's pretty, _Mrs. Hudson mouthed to her son, who stifled a laugh. His mother had never much liked Quinn. Finn managed to corral the two women into the living room, where his mother sat in his father's recliner and Rachel took a seat on the couch next to Finn, opening her notebook to the predetermined questions. For the next half hour they alternated asking questions. After the final question had been asked and Rachel had thanked Mrs. Hudson for her time, Finn's mother invited Rachel to stay for dinner. Rachel accepted, as her dads were out of town on a business trip. As Mrs. Hudson bustled around the kitchen, Finn and Rachel retreated to Finn's room to put together their presentation.

* * *

Rachel really liked Finn's mother. For as long as she could remember, Rachel had always wondered what having a mother would be like. Though her two fathers supplied her with all the love and support she could ever need and Rachel had never wished for anything more, she thought about her mother quite frequently, especially as she grew older. There were some things you just couldn't talk to your dads about.

Meeting Finn's mother, who was warm and open and treated Rachel like a real person and not as a nuisance (even Rachel had to admit that her personality could be grating), gave Rachel a sense of comfort. Mrs. Hudson cared about her son, that much was evident.

Watching Finn meet her dads earlier that week had been hilarious. He had been so nervous, Rachel had almost felt bad for him.

Almost.

She told him that she had told her dads about the slushies, but in reality her dads didn't have a clue about what went on at school. It was funny to see him sweat, though.

Her dads had liked him. They found his demeanor amusing (he really had been nervous), but they told her after that he was a nice guy, and she should bring him around more often.

_"It's only for a project, daddy," _Rachel had told the shorter man when he had mentioned that he would like to see Finn more often. "_In a week it will be over."_

She couldn't help the way her chest constricted when she stated that aloud, as if saying it made it a finality that they only had one more week to spend together on this project.

Rachel brought herself back to the present as she and Finn entered his bedroom. Cowboy wallpaper covered the walls and video games littered the floor. The cowboy wallpaper lended some boyish immaturity to the room, Rachel thought, thinking about Finn as a child playing in this room. She stopped in front of his bed as he plopped down on it with no preamble; she wasn't quite sure what to do, so she stood in front of him.

"I think we've got something good here." Rachel stated, tapping the notebook with her pencil importantly. She had been pleasantly surprised with Finn's ambition throughout the project.

(She also liked spending time with him, though she would never admit that).

Slowly, Finn was breaking down her walls. Earning her trust. Becoming a friend. (A _friend_).

Rachel had never had a friend before.

* * *

Finn sat on his bed and pulled the brunette down next to him. She opened the notebook to cover both their laps and together they pored over the pages, picking out bits and pieces that they wanted to emphasize in their presentation.

"Your mom is really nice, " Rachel announced, tearing her focus from the notebook to address Finn. Finn smiled as he met her eyes.

"My mom is the most important person in my life." Finn stated, rather simply. It was the truth, after all.

"And," he grinned, "I can tell she really likes you. She never asks Quinn to stay for dinner."

He didn't miss the slight flush that colored Rachel's cheeks. Rachel was fast becoming a friend, and Finn knew that though she played the part of the indestructible girl on the outside, she was terribly insecure and had probably never had a real friend in her life.

Finn knew he had a lot of work to do. He was earning her trust, and in the process, learning a lot about the elusive Rachel Berry.

And what he was seeing, he liked.

Maybe a bit too much.

And that scared him.

* * *

Rachel couldn't believe she was sitting on a boy's _bed. Finn's _bed. Where he _slept._ Opening the notebook, she placed it over both their laps (she couldn't help noticing that it covered both, a testament to how close they were sitting). After a bout of silence, Rachel felt as if she needed to say something to clear the air. Talking about Mrs. Hudson was easy, and Finn was receptive. She blushed when Finn told her that his mother liked her and hoped he didn't notice.

Ten minutes later, Mrs. Hudson called the two teenagers to dinner. Finn's mother had made a wonderful meal and Rachel had taken care to thank her profusely, offering to help with the dishes, which she refused with a "oh no, dear, you're our guest! Next time, though, I'll take you up on the offer."

_Next time. Mrs. Hudson (Carole?) wanted her to come back again. _Rachel really liked Mrs. Hudson. She was warm, inviting, and was everything Rachel envisioned her own mother as, Minus the performing ability. Rachel didn't know if Mrs. Hudson could sing, but in her mind her own mother was a top notch performer on Broadway, the epitome of what Rachel herself would become.

Mrs. Hudson gave Rachel another hug before she left, whispering in Rachel's ear that she was welcome to come back anytime.

* * *

After the door closed behind Rachel, Finn's mother turned to her son and gave him a knowing look.

"Such a sweet girl!" She proclaimed, as Finn attempted to make a hasty exit from the kitchen.

"You know, she's the type of girl I always wished you would date," Mrs. Hudson continued, earning a pointed look from her son.

"I have a girlfriend, mom," Finn said plainly. It was no secret that his mother was not fully supportive of the relationship between Finn and his girlfriend.

"And Quinn is perfectly fine." His mother gave Finn a half smile.

"I just want you to be happy, Finn. If Quinn makes you happy, then that's okay with me." She gave her son a pat on the arm before exiting the kitchen, leaving Finn alone with his thoughts.

_Quinn is always putting me down. _

_I can never do anything right around her. _

_Rachel makes me feel like I can do anything. _

…_Do I like Rachel?_

_Oh shit. _

_

* * *

_

Halfway done!

Next chapter: Finn has to make A Big Decision regarding his girlfriend; Rachel and Finn's shared passion for music is revealed.

I love hearing your feedback! Please keep it coming!


	5. Revelations

_I apologize for the long wait! My summer is getting ahead of me and I am trying to keep up (but failing). I can't promise the next update will come any sooner, but I'll definitely try! I read every review and I really appreciate all the kind words! As always, any feedback is much appreciated! _

_Just to answer a question that has been asked more than once (that I don't think I ever addressed, sorry!): no, there is no glee club in this story. Finn and Rachel will not be joining glee club. There may be a glee club in the school, but it does not pertain to F/R's story. Kurt, Tina and Artie were supposed to make an appearance in this chapter, but they stood me up. Can you believe that? They may be back later - we'll see!  
_

* * *

Finn absentmindedly tapped his pencil on his desk at a frenetic pace during his English class the next day. Even on a good day, nouns and adverbs would not have interested him, but he was currently deep in thought about a particular subject that he _could. not. stop. thinking. about _since his revelation the previous night.

Rachel.

Rachel _freakin' _Berry.

As much as he tried (and he had _tried_), he could not get the girl out of his head. It was like when Coach Tanaka decided he wanted the team to try this new formation and Finn had spent his entire week memorizing the play, effectively neglecting everything important.

Like his girlfriend.

(And school.)

His girlfriend, who was currently seated in front of him and had turned around to shoot him a lethal glare.

"_Finn!_" Quinn hissed, her ponytail swinging from side to side (_if looks could kill, _Finn thought).

"Pay attention!" She finished, before snapping her head back to the front of the class. Finn put his pencil down (it wasn't like he was going to take notes anyway).

That afternoon he was going to Rachel's house to put half of their project together. Rachel's computer surpassed his with its "ability to edit and put together a presentation worthy of an A" (Rachel's words, not his).

Finn couldn't pretend he was upset about going to Rachel's house, even when Quinn dragged him from the classroom when the bell rang and stopped at her locker, removing one of those makeup brush thingies Finn knew nothing about, proceeding to swipe something that looked like dirt across her nose and cheeks as she examined herself in her locker mirror.

"What got into you in class today, Finn?" She asked, momentarily glancing at him as he leaned against a nearby locker. "It was like you were actually _thinking _or something, but it was so annoying and _distracting _the way you kept banging that pencil on the table. What were you, tapping out a new drum beat or something?" Quinn snickered as Finn bristled in annoyance. Not many people knew that Finn played the drums, and it was no secret that his girlfriend thought it was a waste of time.

"I just have a lot on my mind." Finn shrugged, hoping to diffuse the situation with his nonchalance.

"Well, anyway, after school today a bunch of us are going to Breadstix… meet me at my locker." Quinn continued, as if whatever was on Finn's mind was of no importance. It was something Finn had come to expect of his girlfriend: she demanded, he followed, no questions asked.

But it wasn't going to happen today. Because he had plans. That didn't include Quinn.

"I can't meet you today, Quinn - I'm going to Rachel's to work on our assignment." Finn said boldly, and he was surprised to find that he didn't care what she thought of that.

"Rachel _Berry's_? You still haven't finished that dumb assignment? Every time, Finn. For the past week. You don't show up at bible study or celibacy club. You haven't come to support me at practice. Is this assignment that important? Or is it her? Do you get off on the thought of her knee socks and argyle sweaters? Do appliqué unicorns turn you on? Do -"

Finn had had enough. Taking a deep breath, he began.

"You know what, Quinn? I've supported you for months. But shouldn't a relationship go both ways? Why the hell can't you ever support _me_? And what the hell do you have against Rachel Berry? She never puts me down. I am sick of you constantly putting me down, and her down, and _everyone _who you have some sort of crazy problem with. Cause you know what? We may be all Lima losers, but Rachel makes me believe I can get out of this town."

Quinn slammed her locker shut and bounced off down the hallway.

"We're done, Finn. And you will _always _be a Lima loser," she called over her shoulder as she disappeared into the crowd.

Finn slid against the locker and closed his eyes. That wasn't how he had planned it to go, but amazingly, he didn't feel like an asshole.

He felt relieved.

* * *

Rachel had just fished her Geometry textbook out of her locker and was walking down the hallway when she heard the tail end of an argument. Curiosity piqued her interest as she turned just in time to see Quinn Fabray flounce down the hallway, her head held high and anger blazing in her eyes, a slumped Finn in front of her locker, his eyes shut, breathing hard. She had to force herself to keep moving through the rapidly thinning hallway, telling herself that she had no business getting involved in whatever had just transpired between the two.

Besides, Finn was coming over after school anyway, and maybe he would tell her then. She wouldn't force it, though.

It was odd, the friendship they had forged. The quarterback and the geek. An unlikely pairing. They worked well together, though. Rachel wouldn't have thought it at first, but Finn was a constant surprise.

And so what if she had developed a slightly-more-than-friendship liking for him.

It's not like he could ever like her, anyway.

* * *

Finn entered Rachel's house later that afternoon, pulling off his shoes and following his host into the kitchen. Rachel chattered away (as usual), busying herself with fixing the usual healthy snack before leading him up to her bedroom. They disposed of their backpacks on the bed and Rachel took a seat in front of her computer, bringing up their presentation.

Ten minutes later, after cutting and pasting and a whole lot of editing, Rachel excused herself to the bathroom. After she left the room Finn sat down at her computer, staring at their presentation. It was coming along really well, and he was excited to present it.

He clicked on a random button, and music began pouring out of the speakers. It was a woman singer, and she was _good._ Finn closed his eyes and let the mystery singer serenade him. He wasn't familiar with the song: it sounded sad, and the melodic tone of the woman's voice surrounded him, rendering it impossible for Finn to click out of what was obviously Rachel's private files. It was when he opened his eyes that he realized their was an accompanying video to the music, and he eagerly brought it up. Immediately his eyes flew open in shock.

The mystery singer was Rachel.

* * *

Rachel entered her bedroom, calling out suggestions for their presentation as she walked to her desk, where Finn was sitting, seemingly in shock.

"What is going on, Finn? You look like you've seen a ghost - oh." Her voice trailed off then, as she saw what Finn was watching: the performance of Rachel singing "I'm Not That Girl," from her favorite musical _Wicked_. Rachel had taped that particular performance over the weekend. The song meant something to her: all the loneliness Rachel had ever felt about not being "good enough" had been poured into that performance, and Rachel hadn't expected for anyone - least of all Finn Hudson - to find this video. Rachel spent much of her time hiding her emotions and vulnerabilities, and now she felt naked. Exposed. Her emotions stripped from her and bared to the world.

"Where did you find that? Why were you snooping through my files?" Rachel asked, grabbing the mouse from Finn and clicking the x above the screen, watching the video disappear. She listened to Finn spew apologies about not meaning to, it just happened (honest)… and she believed him.

"But you're really good, Rachel," Finn stated simply, honesty laced in his voice, and Rachel stopped her tirade about "privacy" and "didn't want anyone to see" to listen as his own confession poured out of his mouth.

* * *

"I play the drums," Finn began, looking at Rachel as he confessed his own well-kept secret. "I began playing a few years after my dad died: my cousin gave me his old drum set, and I played until my mom took them away 'cos I played too much."

"Music, like, helped me, you know?" He continued, glancing at Rachel for support. "It helped me express everything -"

"-I wanted to say, but couldn't," Rachel finished for him, tentatively smiling at Finn out of the corner of her eye. "That's how I feel. When my mom decided she didn't want me because I was too old, I sang about it. When I got slushied and thrown into garbage cans, I used music to express everything that I couldn't ever tell anyone about. My fears, hopes, insecurities… dreams… everything, I sang. And it helped. When everything got to be too much, I had this outlet."

It was like the girl was in his head or something! Finn thought, listening as she continued. He wanted to hear her sing. He knew that now was not the time, but he thought that maybe someday (someday? He was getting ahead of himself…) she would share her talent with him. He wished he could put her music on his ipod and lose himself in her voice (God, he was becoming cheesy).

Rachel tapered off, and after a moment of silence Finn broke it, looking up to meet her eyes.

"I broke up with Quinn today." He announced, his eyes unwavering as they focused on her face.

* * *

Rachel's heart jumped when Finn blurted out what had happened in the hallway. Did that mean what she thought it meant? Did he actually _like _her? But even if he did, it wasn't like they could act on it.

Rachel Berry would not be a rebound, that much was certain.

But she still needed to know what that meant.

"What does that mean?" She asked, never one to beat around the bush. Finn's next action caught her off guard, as he tugged her down to sit next to him and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"I can't get you out of my head, Rachel," he confessed. "At the beginning I thought you were this freaky girl who wore crazy clothes and talked way too much, and I'm not sure when it changed, but somewhere it did. And I'm not good at this stuff, sometimes I don't understand feelings, but I do know that I like you and even if now isn't the time I want to continue this after this project is over and see where it goes because I really, really like you, Rachel." Finn rambled as Rachel listened, her head (slowly) coming back down to earth.

"I like you too, Finn," she said softly, and Finn leaned closer. At the last second Rachel scooted away from him, putting distance between them.

"But even though I like you, you just broke up with your girlfriend," she continued, hoping Finn got her message. He did, as he nodded.

"Tomorrow, I'm going to teach you how to play the drums," he grinned, as Rachel laughed.

"But today, we need to finish our project," she finished, grabbing his hand and leading him back to the computer.


End file.
